Tribute to Ben Rickman who died yesterday

The funeral took place this afternoon of Ben Rickman, secretary of Brent Trades Union Council, who died suddenly yesterday..

Ben was a long-time trades unionist and labour movement campaigner and anti-racist activist well known in the borough.

He was a determined opponent of extreme right-wing groups and opposed the EDL's attempts to stir up hatred during their campaigns in Harrow and Wembley. He signed the following letter to the press when the EDL was threatening to demonstrate in Wembley:

The racist, Islamophobic English Defence League is threatening to demonstrate in Wembley on Saturday 26 June against a peace conference, organised by a Muslim charitable foundation and aimed at building understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The EDL is an organisation of violent, bigoted thugs with proven links to the Nazi British National Party. They should be condemned everywhere, but will be particularly unwelcome if they come to Wembley, part of this country’s most diverse borough.

We are proud of our diversity. In the London Borough of Brent, people live and work together, children study, play and grow up together in peace and mutual respect, regardless of faith or skin colour.

As residents and workers in this borough, we will not tolerate attempts to divide us or stir up hatred. We stood united to show that there was no place for racism or Islamophobia in the neighbouring borough of Harrow. We stand prepared to do the same in Brent.

Commemorating Jayaben Desai who led the famous Grunwick strike, Ben said:

Jayaben Desai destroyed the myth of passive Asian women and contributed to the advancement of Asian people in the UK. Many consider her a role model. She also contributed to unions taking the organisation of migrant workers as a campaign priority, one of her lasting legacies.

Supporting last year's Give Our Kids a Future unity march in Hackey which took place after the riots he said:

Please include the support of Brent Trades Union Council. Brent is a borough of many languages and cultures and a spectrum ranging from deprivation in Harlesden to millionaire homes in Kenton. We wish this demonstration every success. We all have a right to work, and to be valued and developed. Opportunity only exists for some, not for all and that is very wrong.

These extracts demonstrate why Ben was held in such regard as a man of principle.He will be greatly missed and perhaps the best tribute we can pay him is to join the March For An Alternative on Saturday. He would have been there.

Why Greens will be marching for 'A Future that Works' on October 20th

This article by Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales


The march for "a future that works" organised by the trade union movement on October 20th is vital to the movement against austerity.

We need to be looking to a new economic model rather than these tired, heartless false economies that hit the most vulnerable the hardest.

We should be investing in the future, creating jobs and stabilising the economy. Instead we see more of the same privatisation, casualisation and demonisation of the poor, disabled and public sector workers.

Deficit in thinking

Even in the government's own terms massive cuts to public services made no sense - and the fact that government borrowing is at a record high only underlines how economically illiterate this "deficit reduction" project has been.

Instead of hitting the target of a 4.6% reduction in the deficit in fact the deficit has grown by 22% between April and August.

You cannot put an economy back on its feet by throwing people out of work and undermining the public services that keep society ticking.

If the Coalition government was serious about tackling the gap between government spending and income it would be ruthlessly tackling tax avoidance on the part of the rich and large corporations. It would cut spending on nuclear weapons and unnescesary road building - but these cuts are ideologically motivated and are really about the privatisation and carving up of public services, we cannot allow that to happen.

Marching makes a difference
I firmly believe we need to help build a movement for a more sustainable economic system. A movement that reins in the banking and financial sector while investing in the real economy, giving us a solid foundation with which to face the critical challenges of the twenty first century.

We shouldn't simply go back to Labour's 2006 spending priorities - their love affair with the casino capitalism of international finance and growth for its own sake helped bring us to this point. We should though build alliances across the trade union movement, political organisations and campaign groups to take this government head on.

I'll be marching on October 20th, I hope you'll join me.

More discoveries in Fryent Country Park

Hot on the heels of the discovery by Year 1 pupils from Oliver Goldsmith Primary School of a water stick insect, Ranatra linearis, a few weeks ago, another class also found something unusual last week.

The pond stick insect, confusingly, is not really a stick insect and Year 4s from Michael Sobell Sinai Primary School found a worm that is not a worm.

They found a slow worm which is not a worm and not a snake. It is a lizard which through evolution has lost its legs.  The children found an adult (below) and a juvenile in a seldom disturbed section of Fryent Country Park. As ths is a protected species we will try and make sure it remains undisturbed.

 

Will this fight follow the Queensbury rules?

A new fight is developing in Willesden over the redevelopment of the Queensbury Pub and the adjoining Conservative Club in Walm Lane. The building was owned by the Conservatives who have sold it to Fairview Homes for a development of flats.  The rather handsome building is in the Mapesbury Conservation area. This is the development proposal:

Demolition of existing Public House and Conservative Club and erection of a residential development of 2 to 10 storeys comprising 56 flats (19 x 1 bed, 26 x 2 bed and 11 x 3 bed). Formation of revised vehicular access from Walm Lane to basement car park comprising 23 parking spaces and associated amenity space, landscaping works and pedestrian access from Walm Lane accompanied by a Design & Access Statement and subject to a Deed of Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended (revised description to more accurately reflect proposal).

Locals have started a petition and are gathering a lot of  support, including from Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, Apart from the pub the venue is also used by Busy Rascals, a parent and baby group, and National Childbirth Trust's Bumps and Babies group.

On Monday 15th October at 2pm, the local press will be coming to The Queensbury to hear what the manager of the pub,  Busy Rascals, the pub staff and the local community have to say about the planning application.

A Busy Rascals mother said:

This isn't just an application for a few flats too, it's a whopping great 11 storey redevelopment which is designed to go right up to the street with no community space and will require about 50% occupancy parking spaces and during building work trucks will be accessing via Walm Lane. Apart from the disruption, removal of our beloved local community space and favourite pub and the nature in which Fairview Homes have decided what is best for our community, it is the most ugly proposal you've ever seen in an area that's supposed to be a conservation area. We must do something now!!

The petition against the development is HERE 

 Lodge your objection to the planning application HERE